It may seem that moving without legs is very hard, but snakes do it virtuously. In fact, they are able to move around the earth in four main ways. If one method is not suitable, then they apply the other. Sometimes, especially on a very flat surface, they have to try all four ways.
Crawling snakes can be quite fast, and some of them can even chase their prey. However, even the fastest snakes rarely develop a speed exceeding 8 km / h. The record of crawling speed is 16-19 km / h and belongs to the black mamba.
One way to move a snake is called an accordion movement. First, the snake gathers the body into folds. Then, holding the tip of the tail in place, pushes the front of the body forward. And finally pulls the back of the body.
With the help of caterpillar movement, the snake can move in a straight line. It uses this movement when it is necessary to overcome some bottleneck. In this case, the snake moves large scales located on the belly. One by one, the scales sink to the ground like small scapulas.
As soon as the scales plunged into the ground, the muscles move it towards the tail. One by one, the scales are repelled from the earth, and due to this the snake moves. The same method people use when they row while in the ship. They immerse the oars in the water in the same way as the snakes plunge the scales into the ground.
